Fluffy_Gurl

I am starting to lose faith in myself that I can do this. I havent been losing at all, in fact I've gained a few lbs. I got a fill two weeks ago and after the fill i lost six lbs. Now I've gained all of that back plus some. I had been working out on my eliptical machine daily for at least 60 minutes sometimes 120. I havent used it in the last few days because I havent felt well. I recently decided that if my boyfriend wasnt willing to make a commitment that we should end things. He lives out of state and I asked him to move here to be with me and he said no, because he didnt want to. I was pretty shocked seeing as how we are both from here and both our families are here. I cant move because I have a child. Anyway, that relationship no longer exists. I am feeling so bad about myself, I had quit smoking in August for the surgery in October and had been doing well until yesterday when I gave in and bought a pack. I cat seem to make myself throw them away even though I know I should. I will admit that I have not been following the rules. I feel so nausiated in the morning and am so tight i couldnt eat if I wanted to. So usually around noon I will eat something. Recntly it has been chilli, which i do measure. I have been picking here and there after that. Yesterday I ate nachos..stupid I know. and tonight I drank a huge glass of choc milk..that I made with sugar free syrup but still. I get nausiated afer some meals anyway. I think I am pretty much at my sweet spot as I have to chew and chew and chew or things come back up. If I am stressed or nervous I can forget about eating in general. I am generally eating between 800 to 1200 calories a day. I have been looking for a job since September. I have had a few inerviews recently but nothing seems to be panning out and my unemployment is going to run out soon. I am not taking my Vitamins as I should, mostly because I forget once my day gets going. I cant seem to get into a habbit of that either. I feel like everything I have worked for just crumbles. Even with the weight loss I have had I have had no changes in clothing sizes, in fact my pants feel tighter. I dont understand why I cant figure out how to live as a bandster and be sucessful. I have a friend who was banded a week before me. She doesnt work out, she eats the wrong foods all the time, and yet shes lost five sizes already and has lost over forty lbs. I am so angry with myself for not being able to do this. How do I figure this out? Am I going to be a failure at everything I do including this? I am struggling not just with my band but other areas as well so if you have nasty critisism please dont post. I need support not a lecture.

The reason why some people dont have restriction to start with is because everyone has different size stomach. thats why everyone has different fill levels. This is a difficult journey for some of us and we have difficult times and look to this site for support, hence the negativity. Not everyone has a dream journey with their band. I didnt have any restriction until I got my last fill. Try not to judge others unless you had a meal with their band.

Fiber gummies = Amazing! Take them everyday! AAlso remember that you are not eating as much. less in = less out! and drink water!

What about adding protien drinks to your diet? talk to your nut to se if what your eaing is healthy for you.

I am three months post op. I havent lost anything in over a month. I have no restriction. I have had two fills and go for my third in a few days. I exercise on my eliptical machine 6 days a week 30-90 minutes each time. I vary the times of my workouts so my body doesnt get used to it. I measure my foods, altho I do not calorie count, and yes ive cheated a few times and had a little ice cream or something once in a while but not enough that it should matter diet wise. I am taking an antidepressant, wich was switched about a month ago and iI am really noticing a difference. I was also placed on birth control to try and regulate my period because after surgery my period lasted for six weeks, was very heavy, and the cramps were horrid. I also have endometriosis. So why am I telling you all of this? I think I am losing my mind since the surgery. I have weeks where i am perfectly fine and feel "normal" and then all of the sudden I am an emotional mess. I cry, I get super sad, I get angered easily, I feel down about myself etc. This is a new thing for me. The moodiness is causing issues in my personal life. It effects everything I do. Has anyone else experienced this? Does it go away? I have a friend that had the surgery around the same time as I did and she is experienceing the same roller coaster as I am. I am begining to wonder what the hell is wrong with me. Am I going crazy?

My doc did test me. he even told me flat out that he would test me and if i didnt quit that he wouldnt do the surgery. Ill be honest tho, as hard as it was to quit smoking, avoiding the temptation of food at the holidays was much harder. Please quit, i do understand how hard it is, i even gained 20lbs prior to surgery when i quit. maybe you should p[ostpone your surgery.

I have to admit, I have had NO self control. I have been eaing Cookies and fuge, foods that I know I shouldnt because, I have not been able to control myself. I have been eating small portions of food but being around family, some of which dont know about my surgery, has been super hard. And I am also going to admit that on a few occasions i ate something because I wanted to and didnt care that I shouldnt be. Now, its become an everyday occurance that I am eating things I shouldn't. I am hoping that now the holidays are over the availability of the foods i shouldnt eat will not be available. I havent brought these things into the house but have been around it all day everyday. what gives you will power?

So how many of you are going to be focused on losing over the holiday? How many of you are just going to pray that you dont gain anything? how many are just going to do their best, but may cheat a little? As a lifestyle change, which is what the band is right? I am not planning on gaining, hope i will lose, but still plan to enjoy some of our holiday traditions. such as...we eat rubens for christmas dinner, i plan on having some corned beef with a little cheese maybe a cookie for desert. I am not going to deny myself everything and be miserable that icant enjoy holiday traditions in my family. Will i be more careful aboutthe amounts of what i am eating and avoid most of the sweets? yes for sure! Whats your plan for sucess over the holiday?

I am eating supper, usually between six and seven. I am still battleing the hungries at night, it doesnt help that i have difficulty sleeping at night. I wish I could just go to bed and not feel hungry , but alas I still dont know what to do.

I am starving at night, from about 4:00 till about 11:30 at night I am hungry. Its not head hunger either, like stomach growling aching hunger. I can eat whatever i want at night but cant tolerate food in the am till ive been up for about three hours. Not because my band is tight but anything that early makes me nausiated, always has. WTH? So tonight I ate 4 oz of chicken breast, baked and 1/ cup of green Beans. I was good until about 11:00 pm. Now Im starving, ate 1/2 cup cottage cheese half hour later i am still hungry. why? I feel like my body wont cooperate. Granted i dont really have restriction but i would have thought by now my body would be getting used to this. I am good during the day its just at night when my stomache growls and i am physically feeling hunger. any suggestions?

Im on antidepressants, alot of us are, having not been banded very long im not sure what impact it has on weight loss. But i take them just like I always have.

I am so sorry that you are having to go through this. I will definatly send prayers your way for a complete recovery and to be cancer free. ou seem to be a very strong woman, so keep that strength to fight this! I am very glad that you took care of it right away and got in to see your doctor, hopefully they have caught it early enough that you will recover well. YOU can make it through this. You took charge of your body once before and lost 130 lbs! Thats amazing, thats a whole person! If you can lose a person you can lose cancer. I know you must be scared and feeling alone. I hope that you will find a support group in your area to help you through this. No one else can possibly understand what you are going through except someone who has been through it. I also hope that if there is another bandster that has been through this, they will offer you support as well. Please keep in touch and lean on us for support when you need it. I wish the best of luck with your lumpectomy and will be sending up prayers for you.

Christa, I wouldnt worry about it too much especially if you were on clear liquids before and after surgery. I would however watch it and make sure you have one after you start eating mushies. i was about 10 days out from surgery before i had my first one after surgery. I would reccomend the fiber tho for sure! I ate beans a lot during the mushies stages to get things moving a lil bit, you also might wanna take some colace or something if you are taking pain meds cuz the will make things a lil difficult!

Im only recently banded and cant provide too much advice. But i can offer you some support. Hang in there. Hopefully things will get better for you and your body will adjust to having more fliud in your band. Have they tried just adding .1 cc or other small amounts at a tie to see if your body would tolerate it better? I wish you the best of luck! you have already made it so far in this journey dont give up! We all know this is a lifetime struggle for us as it alsways has been, hopefully you will win thi sbattle!

Ive only got 5cc in my band too. I just got a fill on wed. And im hungry too. I think if you are hungry after three hours then you should eat. just eat something low cal and high protien. are you getting all your protien in? one thing i recently noticed was that if i dont get good protien at luch then i am craving foor all night long. hungry too. maybe your body is trying to give you a signal or something. I know you can get discouraged and i have been there recently too. Just keep plugging along and trying to make changes in our lifestyle. I think it is far better to loose slow now and learn how to change your eating habbits and truely change the way you feel about food and how you use food. Its much better than loosing all the weight and gaining it back later, which some bandsters still do, gain it back. youve lost great so far! keep your chin up. try eating beans or something with fiber to help you. Ive also started making sure that i drink a lot of fluids before i eat fills up my lower stomach to stop that growling issue. maybe you need to mix up what your doing and look at when you eat and what your eating. not everyone is the same and you may have to play with your diet to feel satisfied. im not saying you arent eating the right things n such maybe you are just eating them at the wrong times for your body. I dunno just a suggestion.

Thanks!

It is probably just scar tissue and your body healing. probly some swelling too! Check with your doc!

I think it is awesome, I wish they would have let you share more about how this is a journey and not a quick fix. i wish more people understood that this isnt a miracle cure, that for the rest of our lives we will have to work the band! You were awesome! Congrats!

Well im eating normal foods now. I get my protien from lean meats and Beans. If i need to at the end of the day I will use a Protein shake to get in the rest of it. For clear liquids, when i was on my pre-op diet I drank unsweetend tea, crystal light, chicken broth, and sf Jello.

So, How often do you have a bowel movement? i know this is an off color topic that most women dont talk about but honestly, I work in healthcare and I am not real shy about bodily functions. Since surgery I am only going about every 4 days. Is that a normal time frame for a bandster? Also, TMI, Its pretty difficult to actually go. Before surgery it was pretty much on schedule every day. you know the routine....Sh*t, shower, shave, lol Now its really unpredictable, hard as a rock, and difficult. Any suggestions?

I was banded 2 months ago. I also had the hernia repair. I also had the back pain. My doc told me it was likely from me overcompensating to not use my stomach muscles.

I think you are doing great. Just make sure you are measuring your portion sizes, because you dont have any restriction. Make sure you are getting in your protien and follow YOUR docs instructions. Good luck!

I have come to hate the holidays. I get anxiety around large groups of people. This doesnt bode so well with large family gatherings. I also hate the fact that I have never been able to give the way I would like. This year especially, I am still not sure how I am going to do Christmas for my daughter let alone the rest of my family. I havent worked in months. The only reason I am not homeless right now is by the grace of God and the help of my grandparents. I am blessed to have a great family. I too suffer from depression. This bout has absolutely been the worst, and while I would never hurt myself I often wonder would it matter if I wasnt here. thats how low I have gotten recently. I am struggleing with the loss of my job, the loss of my grandmother, and the surgery and not losing weight after working so hard to get the surgery. There is always so much emphasis on being cheery and holiday fun blah blah blah I hate it. It is so stressful for me. Every Christmas i am sick/ill. It sdoesnt matter what I do I am always miserable. i feel so guilty for not enjoying the reason for the season and feel like God is not happy with me for that. I feel guilty that I am not giving my daughter a good Christmas. Thats my fault. She will probably hate the holidays too from her mothers bad example. I am a grinch. I pray to the Lord that he will help me with the and help me to be strong and make it through this. I have no one else to talk to about my feelings except God. No one else would understand and they would only judge me. I pray that you al will find some type of peace during this holiday season. God Bless

Can you be a little more specific on what kind of info you are looking for? We all do different things to get our protien in...

I am very sorry for your loss. It is never easy to lose a loved one. I will keep your family in my prayers and you also. I hope that you will continue your journey and i wish you much sucess in breaking the cycle of health issues. i also feel blessed that i had the surgery even if i am having struggles right now. Our lives truely are a blessing and we have to count each moment as one.